One of the more interesting aspects of these Lakers teams is that in the seasons in which the Lakers ended up winning the championship, very few mid-season trades were made (six players were shuffled in the 1979-80 championship season, in the remaining four championship seasons, only Frank Brickowski was moved). In the six non-championship seasons, 15 mid-season personnel moves were made.

There were x Lakers who entered the NBA and won a championship: Kurt Rambis, Chuck Nevitt, Adrian Branch, Billy Thompson, Milt Wagner, Brad Holland, Clay Johnson, Kevin McKenna, Earl Jones and Magic Johnson. Take Magic off this roster and this team goes triple-overtime against your junior varsity high school team.

Also, congratulations to Billy Thompson and Milt Wagner for only playing championship-caliber basketball. Let no one credit Magic Johnson for any of L.A.’s success!